The overall goal of this funding is to recruit and support the research training of outstanding graduate veterinarians. By so doing we will address the national need posed by the shortage of veterinarians with contemporary research training. The UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine is well positioned to address this need as a result of its: 1) multidisciplinary research training program (Comparative Biomedical Sciences PhD program) with major strengths in Infectious Disease & Immunology, and Cellular & Molecular Regulation of Physiological Processes; 2) outstanding roster of 24 Trainers who in aggregate have more than $15,000,000 in extramural funding and a record of commitment to research training; 3) campus culture that fosters collaborative research and graduate student training; 4) long standing record of providing research training to veterinarians; 5) outstanding facilities and cutting edge support services; 6) strong research ethics and professional skills course; and 7) commitment to minority student recruitment. We request funds for four Trainees for a 5 year period. Trainees will be supported for up to 3 years, during which time they will concurrently fulfill the requirements of the Comparative Biomedical Sciences PhD Program. The Specific Aims of the training program are: 1) Provide veterinarians with contemporary problem solving and laboratory skills required to address national needs in translational biomedical research; and 2) Increase the number of veterinarians who serve as mentors for veterinary medical students considering a career in research. Subsidiary goals include: 1) Recruit veterinary medical students to pursue the DVM at the UW-Madison and participate in our portfolio of research training programs (Merial, T35, one year T32, Postdoctoral T32); 2) Increase the number of underrepresented minority students pursuing research training at UW-Madison; 3) Provide participating students with training in research ethics, responsible conduct of research and professional skills for successful careers in research. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: There is critical need to increase the pool of veterinarians with contemporary research training. The proposed program will address this need by supporting the research training of 4 outstanding veterinarians by a team of 24 well-funded faculty with strong graduate student training records. This will be conducted in an outstanding environment with exceptional resources, at a campus with a historical commitment to graduate student research training.